A former Louisiana 4-H leader is among 20 people who will be inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame this fall.

The late W. C. Abbott Sr., former state 4-H leader for Louisiana, was selected for the honor. Information about Abbott, who served Louisiana from 1919 through 1949, will join citations for 185 others who have been inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame.

Abbott is the fourth person from Louisiana to be cited - joining retired LSU AgCenter Vice Chancellor and Extension Director Jack Bagent, who received the honor in 2002, Louisiana 4-H program founder Victor Leander Roy Sr., cited in 2004, and former state 4-H specialist Stella Jones, last year's inductee.

The National 4-H Hall of Fame is a cooperative venture of the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents, the National 4-H Council and U.S. Department of Agriculture's National 4-H Headquarters. It started in 2002 when 100 people were inducted into the hall of fame in honor of the hundredth anniversary of the 4-H youth development program.

"We are honored these Louisiana leaders have been recognized on a national level," said Dr. Paul Coreil, vice chancellor of the LSU AgCenter. "Without years of dedicated leadership from so many people like these who have been honored, our 4-H youth development program wouldn't be the success it is today."

W.C. Abbott, Jr., born in 1914, grew up on a farm in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, south of Baton Rouge. He met his future wife, Edna Webb, while in high school. They both attended LSU in Baton Rouge, and were married after he graduated with a degree in agriculture in 1934. His first job was with the Soil Conservation Service, then took a job as agriculture teacher at Evergreen High School in Webster Parish. After four years as ag teacher, and four years with the Farm Security Administration, he took as job as Assistant County Agent in Ouachita Parish. In 1944, he was named County Agent for Jackson Parish, a post he held for 30 years, retiring in 1974.

Following retirement, he and his wife Edna enjoyed life at their fishing camp on Lake D'Arbonne in Union Parish, and he penned two books which he published, a series of articles on various recollections from his boyhood years on Bayou Manchac in South Louisiana, and people and incidents in North Louisiana.

A series of his columns were published in The Piney Woods Journal beginning in 2000, continuing until his death in February of 2006.

Abbott was credited with starting a variety of new projects, competitions and other programs that increased 4-H Club enrollment during his 30 years of leadership. Among those, he is credited with introducing 4-H summer camps and with overseeing the building and creation of the original 4-H Camp Grant Walker near Pollock.

"But perhaps the most dramatic episode of Mr. Abbott's long term of service was the project of selling sufficient war bonds to purchase a Liberty Ship during World War II," said current LSU AgCenter state 4-H leader Terril Faul. "Although the goal of the campaign was set at less than $2 million, a total of more than $3.5 million of bonds was sold by 4-H members in Louisiana. And the Liberty Ship was given the name of 'Floyd W. Spencer,' an active rural youth worker during his lifetime."

This year's hall of fame induction ceremonies will be October 6 during National 4-H Week at the National 4-H Center. Abbott will be represented by family members at the ceremonies, which will honor a total of 20 individuals selected for the National 4-H Hall of Fame this year.

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